Woolworths relaunches brand with new Droga5 work but retains emphasis on fresh food people
Woolworth’s has relaunched with an updated slogan and a campaign designed to introduce the public to the people behind the brand in the first major campaign from the supermarket’s giant’s new agency Droga 5.
New logo
In order to emphasise that most Woolworths produce is home grown, the slogan has been updated from “the fresh food people” to “Australia’s fresh food people”. The brand has stuck with the logo designed by Hans Hulsbosch in 2008. In a subtle change, the Woolworths name now appears in dark green rather than red.
Old logo
The ad – which goes to air from tonight – features a new theme song. Outdoor posters have also begun to roll out.
Tjeerd Jegen, MD of Woolworths supermarkets, said in a press release:
“Today we embark on a new journey for our company. We have a proud history at Woolworths of bringing Australians outstanding fresh food and value. We are building on this and our new campaign marks the start of a new promise to our customers as ‘Australia’s Fresh Food People’.
“A new ad campaign, which commences on Sunday night, features nine real Woolworths Fresh Food people. Our renewed focus on our people is testament to the faith we have that Woolworths’ people are our greatest asset.
“Coupled with that is our new theme song, which highlights the rhythm of the seasons and celebrates that every day, every week, every month of the year, Woolies people open the doors to our stores and bake the freshest bread, serve the freshest fruit and veg and the best quality Australian meat and seafood.”
Today’s Sunday Telegraph reports that Woolworths will remove walls to behind-the-scenes areas of its stores so that customers will be able to see bakers and butchers in action. The brand will also refit stores with better lighting and address checkout queues.
The supermarket said that its shift was driven by incorrect public perceptions that a high quantity of Woolworths food is imported.
Woolworths surprised the industry when it handed its business to Droga 5 in March.
The brand has also launched a website to introduce the public to each stage of the food chain, with the personnel from the ad each getting their own video.
Farmer Malcolm Otto:
Truckie Harold Haigh:
Supervisor Jillian Arnold
Store manager Danny McGennisken
Butcher Janet Morton:
Fishmonger Paul Cowan:
Deli guy Sergio Garcia:
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Where is the benefit for customers? This is a glorified internal staff promo. Shows how far Woolies have their head up their own ass, out of touch.
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Well I hope have listened well. We know products are coming in from China and other areas and not only when our fresh products are out of season. They are on the shelves year round or mixed with Australian products but percentages never shown of what is Aussie. Australian product just disappear or is put in a hard to find place. Coles is really horrific for this. If Woolworths is open, honest and sells the Australian product which is undiluted with foreign imports they should win back customers in droves and many of the Coles customers.
Meat cutters do not cut the meat correctly and trained Butchers are what is needed.
Campaigns with songs and people telling us how good they are is not going to work. The consumers are sick of PR spinners, we need to see the proof in the pudding and maybe then you will see the dollars in your tills. Stop treating us like idiots, we are far from it and if you walk the aisles of supermarkets you will hear complaints left right and centre of lack of choice, poor shelving arrangements and not enough checkout operators. If Coles and Woolworths and others really want to hear the truth get it from the horses mouth. A consumer shopping every week not some PR person sitting in their ivory towers.
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i’m getting a bit sick of the cutesy, off-beat music choices and forced “here’s our real staff trying to be a bit quirky” approach we are seeing in a lot of categories at the moment. There’s nothing new here……Woollies might be the fresh food people, but they are not the fresh advertising people.
oh, and has “Malcolm the farmer” got a helmet on because he is about to go into price negotiations with the Woollies buyer?
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Really, really want this to succeed. Not only for D5’s sake but to see Woolies raise the bar from the turgid Coles work. Guys, the whole industry is barracking for you here.
Sad to say I suspect this will fail. Charming as they may be, the talent are not an attractor to shop at Woolies. It feels stuck somewhere between marketer’s attachment to featuring staff members testimony, and dogged creative insistence on trying to inject some quirkiness or interest in them. Damn….
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Would love to know how much they spent on the ‘new’ logo and slogan
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Did Wooloworths ever resolve with IP Australia the trademark dispute over their 2008 logo with Apple ?
Adding Australian to the catchphrase, a bit bland as Coles emphasizes freshness simply (there’s no freshness like Coles freshness).
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Nice to see Woolworths making an effort to reclaim the “fresh food” territory that Coles has been encroaching on in recent times.
A journey down the fresh food chain in order to refresh brand associations seems like a good strategy to me. And it sounds like it’s not just a hollow advertising campaign but a deeper marketing promise with reference to in-store changes.
I think Corporate Social Responsibility is another arena where Woolies might demonstrate a leadership position versus Coles e.g.
Fresh Food Future:
http://www.woolworths.com.au/w.....ood+future
Fresh Food Rescue:
http://www.woolworths.com.au/w.....-Projects/
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Hey, Lin
When you are in your local woolies next time and you have those questions in your mind, why don’t you ask the store manager, we are more than happy to help you with ANY questions you have, that’s our job and what we are there to do, we do it because we love it.
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I like it.
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It’s good to see characters being recognised. If they are infact genuine. However…
The stand out is the idea of removing walls to behind-the-scenes areas… Not only does it give a premium feel in-store, but they could probably run a better campaign based on this and promoting their ethical transparency. Such as percentages of fruit and veg sourced locally. Eg. Aldi supposedly source 97% in Australia… However, it’s not an agencies position to change a business model if it works either.
Sometimes the majors get a lot of (IMO) undeserved resentment from the public and they could address this in one way or another.
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Why are all the Fresh Food people fat?
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As a shareholder I have felt sheer dismay in the past 2-3 years watching Woolworths being picked on and totally outplayed in terms of marketing and overall advertising strategy.
Finally the company has fought back, and as a previous commenter suggested, it’s essential that they back up the claims and promises made within the article and transform their dreary stores and ‘responsive’ marketing to once again be the market leader. My wallet hopes they succeed.
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would love a copy of the words to the song think its quite catchy
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Who sings the song on the new WW’s ad – monday tuesday etc.
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Disappointed says-like really..I wanted this to be great.
More farmers/more staff I do not get what is new.
Nice shots/nice music-but Woolworths had those.
Pity as good opportunity.
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Great to see Woolies revert back to their strength. However I really hope they go further than just an ad campaign and ripping out a few walls (Coles have already done this in some of their stores).
Those in adland may deplore the lack of creativity in the Coles ads but the simple fact is the focus on value and price is very relevant to Aussie’s in times when we’re price sensitive. Sure we care about Aussie grown but we care more about having money in our wallets.
I’m afraid this misses the boat.
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Duggie
Really, I should not have these issues to discuss with the store manager. There should be sufficient checkouts, there should be more Australian grown/ made products, there should be clear concise ticketing, there should be easy to reach shelving. If you want to sell your own brand can I suggest it is all in one area If your customers want the home brand it would be much simpler, easier and more efficient to have it thus. People will either buy it or not as they do now. I for one do not as I buy Australian products as much as possible. I hear fellow shoppers complaining about these home brands taking over and leaving little choice. I do find Coles is worse at this than Woolworths though. I would think any economist would realise that by importing goods and thereby putting Aussies out of work by closing factories and farmers bull dozing their produce into the ground is counter productive and thereby your profits will be depleted as the number of lower income familys increas but somehow that doesn’t seem to have been factered in to future forecasts by of the supermarket chains and others.
I purchase much of my items now from independants and although I am only a small fish I may be part of a School before too long as the swell of unease grows louder.
I wish you luck and hope you have listened well and are not just saying but doing.
Action speaks louder than words.
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I think this is lovely work from D5. The individual videos are beautifully paced and shot and would make for a great online campaign.
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Like correspondent really I wanted this to be great.
Sadly it is not.
More farmer and staff.
Missed opportunity.
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@Really? That’s simply not true. I backing ted’s work over this plate of steamed blandness with poached smuggery.
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Why should there be more Australian produce?
Surely this continent doesn’t have any sort of monopoly on good food ?
They are certainly not Woolworths the ‘multi-cultural’ people. The faces in the ad are grossly disproportionate to the variety of backgrounds and cultures who work in my local Woolworths.
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Sadly Woolworths have yet to complete the 2009 rebrand across all their stores (yes, I can name many in NSW which retain the original branding) and here they go on another one (so we will have three identities present within Woolworths). Corporate identity management mustn’t be such a big issue with these people and they see this new work as yet just another “tweak” of the identity. Everyone in branding knows a strong and consistent identity is a foundation stone of a great brand, yet Woolworths sees an ad agency now as a brand custodian and more qualified to do this work. The previous Hulsbosch work for all its legibility problems, we were led to believe was the subject of extensive research with customers, I wonder if it was the same with this tweak. Great brands understand their customers, so so brands don’t.
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Screams steaming hot cow scat from a mile.
Nothing new. Circle jerk of a campaign.
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I think this campaign has completely missed the mark. The characters seem almost staged and unrealistic and Woolworths have tried so hard to create diversity and quirky characters within the 7 videos that they have ended up with appalling cliches like “Sergio,the deli guy”, showing token multiculturalism, “Janet the (butch) Butcher” or Jillian the older lady who likes to knit and do crosswords.
The ads are too long, that they become uncomfortable to watch. I agree with Rob that there is nothing new here, in fact it is almost a complete rip-off the Bunnings premise, who do it better!
I noticed there are no dairy farmers here either – maybe if Wollies really wanted to change re-brand they could start by giving back to the dairy farmers they are hurting with Price Wars!!
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Great approach to match Coles strategy and move from Celeb to “real” people!
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I don’t quite get it. I was hoping the dots would be joined when I watched the “Knight Farmer’s” individual spot but still not sure why he’s a knight.. BUT I really like the art direction, I get the feeling this is just the first chapter of a book and I’m going to keep reading..
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What a great ad! I love the song and it really appeals to everyone. Well done Woolworths, Your looking in great shape to start your resurgence.
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Have either of the supermarkets asked the consumer whether they think they have fresh products, I don’t thinks so, both supply produce that “goes-off” within 24 hours, (personal experience) so their claims should be challlenged from a reality point-of-view. How can Garlics from Mexico and China, oranges from the USA, fish from Thailand etc etc. be fresh?
Both are misleading the public with their fresh claims.
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Really disappointed that the farmers and country towns have been portrayed as off-beat and a wacky but once the produce reaches the city everyone looks ‘normal’. Does nothing to endear country viewers and customers.
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I’m sorry but for all the spin, it’s just not believable. I’m sure the Woolies suppliers and employees are all very nice but at the end of the day, the power does not lie with them, it lies with a couple of hundred people in Sydney (who are increasingly British?) who sadly for whatever KPIs, continue to screw the lifeblood out of good Australian food companies, which costs real jobs. I know because some of them are our clients. Last week a ranging decision (that was not performance based or seemingly open to any real discussion) was confirmed as costing numerous jobs with my client, plus some of our scope of works for the new financial year and retainer to boot. It will consequently cost one job at our agency. And that was the final straw for me.
Last weekend I moved my routine shop to IGA. Great Australian brands, good service. It’s the small statement I can make against the Big 2 as a citizen by voting with my wallet. I’m no longer willing to turn a blind eye to your bullying tactics or your extended Pokies portfolios. Sorry guys but you’ve lost another customer!
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Not a multi-cultural advertisement/company??
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8 faces, only two ladies and nil reflecting the diverse range of multiculturalism in the Australian population and the Woolworths workforce. Fail.
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meh…i’m sure the agency and media companies are stoked that woolies is back..
1. Are these staff, suppliers and farmers or actors?
2. I just get the sense ‘we’ve been here before’ with this ‘real staff’= more care= better product/value for customer. Agree the art direction is nice but i do find the ads a bit creepy personally.
For me, it feels pretty empty emotionally, and coupled with the private label isn’t making me look for a woolies to shop at (3 x kids as well)…just sayin
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This was nauseating. Puke-worthy. Granted I am not a middle Australia Pleb, so probably not the target audience. And where are some New Australians. There is not one other culture represented. “Woolworths, the white Australia People”?
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*Please remove apostrophe from Australians. lol
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Oh and that weird guy in the weird truck’s anecdote about the python mauling a rabbit CREEPY. The “married” quiche cooking, dance music loving (edited by Mumbrella), and the women talking about how elderly people have no one else to talk to but her? Could they have found more off putting people?
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I can’t wait to spend some of my hard earned time visiting the site to ‘meet’ the lovely fresh food people. As a consumer I want to watch every video they’ve spent that big budget on.
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Liz Muir, I don’t understand what you find wrong with the apostrophe?
It’s grammatically correct, as is.
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Why is Sergio holding a camel during his interview?
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This is about as new as most of Woolies fresh produce. Continuous out of stocks, delisting of good products to make room for crappy generics, checkouts open at the worng times, pushing people to self check-out, all this is the reality of the Woolworths experience. And no amount of good old ideas and tired concepts will change it. The message to these clowns is simple: restore your range and service to what it was 10 years ago and you won’t need to con the punters into thinking you are good.
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Put your money where your mouth is Woolworths. Nice campaign but it is ill fitting with the maga beast that is Woolworths. Woolworths screw their farmers and food companies to the wall, their produce is not seasonally fresh and it’s more difficult to find the aussie apples and oranges in amongst the imports. This is a campaign simply geared at making us feel better about the fact that there is a major duopoly and we have limited choice whilst we whistle the tune down the aisle. Woolworths no matter how sweet the campaign – you suck.
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oh, and has “Malcolm the farmer” got a helmet on because he is about to go into price negotiations with the Woollies buyer?
haha well said!
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Aiden – hilarious and true
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Slam dunk with Emma Louise Birdsall on the Voice.
Check out the comments on WW Facebook. Punters love it.
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Watching the ad I felt the sudden urge to go to Victoria. The music maybe?
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Malcolm ‘The Farmer’ He is a classic. Good on him for getting out there and doing triathlons, fantastic! He just seems like a normal good bloke that is passionate about his job and industry. Keep up the good work Malcolm and good luck with your training.
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That song is stuck in my head now!!
Where is this ad filmed, what’s with the camel and where’s the yard with all the old cars that we get a flash of ?
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Ad probably hasn’t worked as intended on me. I have no greater or lesser regard for Woolies, but would LOVE to get my hands on a CD of the song! I think I’ve found that it’s Frankie Carle “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (I love you)” but I’m not sure that it’s HIS version, most likely not. Kitty Kallen also sang it, but it’s definitely NOT her in this version. Reading here, I’m not the only one trying to track it down. Surely SOMEBODY knows who’s singing this? Droga5 — are you passing by here? Can you help?
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I would say that the song is definitely sung by an Australian; apart from the fact that it’s an Aussie ad, the lyrics include “warm December”. In the original, Northern Hemisphere version, it’s (of course) “cold December”. I think this version of the song’s AWESOME – before I cottoned on to the “warm December” bit, I thought it may have been Billie Holiday. Anyhoo, I’d also love to get a copy of this version if anyone out there knows who sings it…
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The jingle is catchy, but I think it’s extremely nieve to think the launch of a new ad campaign will have any impact on their business.
Coles was well on it’s way to a turn around with massive operational, value and staffing changes before Curtis Stone or Down, Down.
….saying that the music really does get stuck in your head!
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Found out who sang it – it’s a Melbourne band called “Gossling” and the song is available for free download as a MP3 from http://www.australiasfreshfoodpeople.com.au — click “people” to find the download link.
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Well done; got it!!
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I find this to be a refreshing ad in the Woolworths vs Coles war. I was up until seeing this on TV that I was an avid Coles buyer. But in the last year three coles stores have crept up right next to independents. Now I get sick and tired of it. All those down down ads drive me nuts every time I see them on. Too action packed and Americanized for my tastes and espcially. When woolies made this ad they took a step in the opposite direction (the right way) and made something softer that you can actually absorb without it having hands and massive song and dance parts. Congratulations Woolworths. IMO Coles appear to to force feed you the information if you want it or not.
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I am NOT a fan of Woolworths, try not to spend my hard earned there even though in which ever direction I drive with in a 5 km radius Woolworths is my only option.
I do however think this marketing campaign is brilliant!
I think it ‘s fresh it ‘s fun it engages you and the launch on the same two nights as the finals of the voice, showing the singer… Clever stuff!
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Lucky for Woolies my wife does the shopping as the voice in that song makes me cringe.
Probably one of those front toothless nauseating red haired freckly kids so beloved of advertisers.
Aw, Isn’t she cute. I’d imagine based on some American drivel.
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I apologise. Just heard it on again. Has to be Donald Duck. No human could sound like that
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how much Woolworths fresh meat comes from AUSTRALIA?
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According to Woolworths’ website, all their fresh meat is Australian.
http://www.woolworthsfacts.com.au/fast-facts.html
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I think Woolies has lost the plot. It is clutching at straws. Campaign after campaign. am not sure where to look and what to stick with.It all went downhill when they changed the name from Safeway to Woolworths, think about it when did their sales start to slide. at the same time coles has brought in curtis stone with his beautiful smiling face. Their advertising looks much fresher, is convincing and a likeable character to promote. their product. Whoever is running coles at the moment is a genius especially the advertising head. Their service is much better now as well so why not go to coles?
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could you please tell me who sings the song, sounds like one I heard about 40 years ago
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Dawn: check out my post from June 26th, also from June 21st. 🙂
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This campaign borrows very heavily from Jonathan Glaser’s WRANGLER ‘RIDE’ COMMERCIAL of 2001.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VllLZWh-rks
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all australian my butt .. i was a butcher for woolies .alot of the meat they get in in cartons is bull beef not cow and alot is product of new zealand . i even saw chinese boxes come through .
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dawn .. that is from about 40 years ago lol but a new version was made for the ad . by the goslings
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So Woolies is fat, white and a bit dim?
Droga5 really hit the nail on the head with this one!
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